TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The executive director of the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) on Tuesday issued a notice of hearing alleging that two BC men and a BC mining company that traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange breached mining rules.

The notice alleges that Wilhelmus (William) Kocken, Matthew Ball and Bralorne Gold Mines breached Canadian mining rules by disclosing the results of an economic analysis that included, or was based on, a target for further exploration of the company's gold mining operation.

This analysis was disclosed in a news release, in a technical report filed on Sedar and on the company's website. While being a director, Kocken was also Bralorne's CEO. Ball was also a director of Bralorne, as well as the company's president, COO, and qualified person for the purposes of its technical disclosure.

The notice stated that on October 17, 2012, Bralorne announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment it had commissioned the previous June. In the news release, Bralorne presented the results of the speculative economic analysis.

Kocken had signed the news release on behalf of the company's board of directors, and Ball reviewed and approved the technical data contained in the news release.

Also on October 17, Bralorne was instructed by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation of Canada to issue a news release retracting the speculative economic analysis owing to the fact "the analysis was not based on a current resource estimate”. Kocken, on behalf of the board, signed the news release containing the retraction.

However, the next day, Bralorne filed a technical report on Sedar that included the speculative economic analysis, despite the retraction on the previous day. On November 1, 2012 Bralorne also posted on its website a copy of the technical report, as well as a corporate presentation and fact sheet that referenced the speculative economic analysis.

BCSC said its staff contended that by disclosing the results of an economic analysis, which included or was based on a target for further exploration, Kocken, Ball and Bralorne breached Canadian mining rules.

These allegations have not been proven and counsel for the executive director would apply to set dates for a hearing into the allegations before a panel of commissioners on May 28, at 9:00.

The BCSC is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province.